I get
in trouble all of the time — no matter where I go, who I am with,
or what I am doing. I could simply be at the market, and notice that the
cashier has ten earrings in every orifice of her body, and has an “I
hate you attitude” about what she is doing. So, dumb me, I strike
up a conversation with this person, and within minutes, I hear everything
about this person’s life. Of course, I say something to hopefully
enhance this person’s outlook and help point her towards another
way of thinking, but no, this person starts screaming at me! So then a
new opportunity arises for me; I now have to deal with speaking up to
a person who probably heard something she may have never heard before,
and I have to do it the way I would to anyone who overreacts, with patience,
strength of conviction (this stops them from trying to intimidate me)
and love!

Or,
it could be that I am checking into a hotel, and the front desk clerk
tries to confuse me, and I am now faced with the opportunity to practice
standing up to confusion, and next, to intimidation. I am not intimidated!
Now, the confused intimidator does not know what to do with me, so again,
with strength of conviction, I speak to him as if he were going to understand
me!

I find
that I really cannot care about the outcome of any confrontation. My job
is done the moment I am not passive. The other side wins when we are passive
and it loses when we are not! As I move around in this ocean of human
beings, sadly I see that we have become a nation of quiet, angry, passive
people who have no noble, warrior spirit. No one wants to stand up to
anything anymore! The majority of people will choose to stand by and allow
someone to abuse them and everyone around them, accepting poor customer
service or even allowing a teacher to degrade their children.

Most
people see what I see, but only a few dare stand up and deliver. I am
not really that brave of a person, but not standing up is more frightening
than being a weak, passive dog lying in the corner trying not to see the
obvious. There is one warning that goes with this article: When you stand
up, it has to be real. In order to make your awareness work for conviction
and correction’s sake, you must be willing to look at yourself first,
then no one can intimate you. Standing up is a human responsibility at
its finest, and imagine if even just a few of us did not accept what is
now the norm, we could change the world!

As for
me, I love getting in trouble, and I will always be in search of my own
wrongs, so no one can intimidate me by seeing a weakness that I don’t
already know I have. I also warn you that not every opportunity of speaking
up is the right opportunity; some people would rather kill you than let
you speak up to them. But if your boldness were real, you would already
know this rule of engagement. If there was ever a time in your life to
stand up it is now!

My dad
told me this when I was five years old and I have never forgotten it:

Fear
knocked at the door, Faith rose and opened it, and there was no one there.

For the past
5 years, Dianne Linderman has been a nationally-syndicated talk show host
on Radio America with her live, call-in show, “Everything That Matters,
In Life, Business, Parenting and Cooking.

Meet Dianne Linderman:
A passionate speaker, award-winning author, teacher, counselor, publisher,
and serial entrepreneur who believes that simple dynamic parenting can
save our country’s kids! “Let’s teach our kids to be
entrepreneurial and help give them self-respect and self-reliance and
character!” Dianne’s unique, funny and natural personality,
innovative business ideas, parenting skills, and simple healthy cooking
segments are a hit with her listeners.

Over the past
30-plus years, Dianne, along with her husband and best friend, David has
worked as a counselor for troubled teenagers, owned her own restaurants,
built a multi-million dollar company, owned a dozen businesses, started
a publishing company, helped build a private school, raised two incredible
kids, and consulted for large companies. She has also written a series
of award-winning children’s books including, “How To Become
An Entrepreneurial Kid,” that promote financial literacy and entrepreneurial
skills and attitudes for readers of many ages in a time when economic
realities demand that kind of savvy and skill set.

Now she is about
to launch her own magazine, “Everything That Matters” to accompany
her nationally-syndicated radio show. Dianne
has appeared on national television, dozens of national radio talk shows,
and has been a speaker for the 2004 Republican Convention representing
entrepreneurial moms and women.

Dianne lives
in Oregon with her husband, David, and their two children, Luke age 14
and Alexandra age 12. Both children have their own businesses.